How much do you need to earn to have a similar or better standard of living in another country? We discuss cost of living, quality of life and issues that impact expats. And offer International cost of living index comparison and expat salary calculators.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Abu-Dhabi in the UAE is the most expensive city for expats in the Middle East, followed by Beirut. Dubai and Doha are third and fourth respectively, while Manama has dropped to 10th most expensive in the Middle East, having dropped to 316th most expensive in the world. Damascus is the cheapest city to live in. While Abu-Dhabi is the most expensive city in the Middle East, it is only ranked 93rd in the world. In Abu-Dhabi housing, education and recreation and culture costs are very high. Similarly Dubai has dropped to 110th most expensive in the world.http://www.xpatulator.com/cost-of-living-article/Middle-East-Expat-Cost-of-Living-Comparison-Rankings-August-2016_683.cfm

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Zurich and Geneva are ranked as the first and second most expensive expat cities in Europe and the 5th and 6th most expensive cities in the world for expatriates. This is due primarily to the strong Swiss Franc which has maintained its position against the US Dollar despite the dollar's strong showing in 2015, as well as due to high rentals and institutionalized high wages. Despite the fact that there have been moderate price increases in most of Europe, the Euro has weakened against the US Dollar which has resulted in lower USD prices, pushing Euro cities down in the global ranking, only one of the top ten most expensive cities in Europe is on the Euro (Monaco). Oslo is the world's 7th and Europe's third most expensive city as at August 2016. Oslo was the most expensive location in Europe in 2014, however the weaker Norwegian Krone (more than 18% weaker against the USD by the end of 2015) resulting primarily from the lower global oil price and subsequent weaker oil sector.http://www.xpatulator.com/cost-of-living-article/Europe-Expat-Cost-of-Living-Comparison-Rankings-August-2016_684.cfm

Hamilton in Bermuda is the most expensive location in the Americas, in 9th place globally; this is due to the high price of property and the fact that most items have to be transported to Bermuda adding a great deal to the cost of expatriate items. New York (Manhattan) NY is the second most expensive location in the Americas, the most expensive city in the USA in 11th place worldwide, this is mainly due to the highly priced rental property market. Overall locations across the United States have climbed the rankings during 2015 as a result of the strong US Dollar against most other global currencies. The second most expensive city in the USA is Honolulu, HI ranked 5th in the region and 29th in the world, followed by San Jose in California ranked 36th in the world. In comparison the highest ranked city in Canada is Toronto, ranked 105th most expensive in the world in 2016.http://www.xpatulator.com/cost-of-living-article/America-Expat-Cost-of-Living-Comparison-Rankings-August-2016_686.cfm

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Hong Kong has not only retained the top spot as the overall most expensive in Asia-Pacific, it has become the most expensive city in the world, mainly due to the extremely high housing costs, as well as high cost of schooling and limited space available making rentals high. Singapore remains the second most expensive city in the Asia-Pacific region for expatriates (4th most expensive in the world) and tops the region rankings when costs related to housing, education, medical and transport are excluded. Tokyo is the third most expensive city in Asia-Pacific. This is mainly due to the strength of the Japanese Yen, which has held steady against the USD, while most other currencies have weakened. In addition factors such as consumption tax increases have resulted in US Dollar prices increasing in global terms. Shanghai is the fourth most expensive place for expatriates in the Asia-Pacific region, and 17th globally...http://www.xpatulator.com/cost-of-living-article/Asia-Pacific-Expat-Cost-of-Living-Comparison-Rankings-August-2016_685.cfm

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Luanda is most expensive city to live in the African region, and second most expensive city in the world. The Angolan New Kwanza (AOA) is approximately 36% weaker against the US Dollar compared to a year ago, extremely costly safe expatriate accommodation, imported produce and costly international private schooling has kept Launda at the top of the rankings in Africa. Overall African countries are some of the poorest and least developed in the world, with relatively low local cost of living expenses; however the cost of importing and transporting the international standard of goods that expatriates expect to purchase in the cities in this region makes it extremely expensive to maintain the lifestyle that they are used to.http://www.xpatulator.com/cost-of-living-article/Africa-Expat-Cost-of-Living-Comparison-Rankings-August-2016_687.cfm

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Xpatulator's hardship ranking system measures the relative quality of living in each locations, and assesses the level of difficulty that will be experienced in adapting to each location. The ratings for hardship are classified into four main groups, the first being those with no real hardship, while the three categories with hardship can be described as follows: 1) Some Hardship (20% Hardship Premium) 2) High degree of Hardship (30% Hardship Premium) 3) Extreme Hardship (40% Hardship Premium). The Xpatulator.com High and Extreme Hardship Premium Locations (30%-40% Premium) as at August 2016: ... Pristina in Kosovo 40% Puebla in Mexico 30% Pune in India 30% Pyongyang in Democratic Republic of Korea 40% Quito in Ecuador 30% Rabat in Morocco 30% Reykjavik in Iceland 30% Riga in Latvia 30% Riyadh in Saudi Arabia 30% Roseau in Dominica 40% Saipan in Northern Mariana Islands 40% Samara in Russia 30% San Jose in Costa Rica 30% San Juan in Puerto Rico 30% ...http://www.xpatulator.com/cost-of-living-article/International-Hardship-Premium-Locations-2016_693.cfm

The top ten most expensive cities in the world comprise three from Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong (1); Singapore (4); Tokyo (8)), three from Africa (Luanda (2); Asmara (3); Kinshasa (10)), three from Europe (Zurich (5); Geneva (6); Oslo(7)), and one from America (Hamilton(9)). In Hong Kong the very high cost of housing and healthcare, as well as the strong Hong Kong dollar which is fixed against the US Dollar, are the main reasons for it being the world's most expensive city. As opposed to Hong Kong, everything in Luanda is expensive as almost all international standard goods and services are imported. Asmara in Eritrea is the third most expensive city in the world for Expatriate’s to live. There are however very few Expatriate’s in Asmara, a city of around 649,000 people in a country of approximately 6 million.http://www.xpatulator.com/cost-of-living-article/International-City-Cost-of-Living-2016-for-Expatriate-Professional-Migrants_688.cfm

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

The top ten most expensive countries in the world comprise three from Africa (Angola) (1); Democratic Republic of the Congo (5); Eritrea (7)), three from Europe (Norway (2); Switzerland (3); Denmark (8)), and four from America (Bermuda (4); Cayman Islands (6); Barbados (9); Bahamas (10)). Angola is the most expensive city in the world for expatriate professional migrants mainly because almost all international standard goods and services have to be imported and due to the lack of infrastructure there are price premiums due to demand exceeding supply. The lower oil price and consequent dramatic reduction in revenue to Angola in 2016 has seen prices remain extremely high, largely as a result of the weaker Angolan Kwanza (down approximately 40% against the US Dollar in the past year) making imports extremely expensive.http://www.xpatulator.com/cost-of-living-article/The-Most-Expensive-Countries-in-the-World-for-Expatriate-Professional-Migrants-August-2016_689.cfm